Improved hitching-strap



gin-.irre tsttrs n @anni @frn A. J. ROSS, 0F ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR T0 O. C. ROSS, OF

' PENFIELD, NEW YORK.

Letters latcnt No. 70,473, dated November 5, 1867.

turnover arretrate-STRAP,

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CON-CERN:

Be it known that I, A. J. R0ss,'of Rochester, in the county of Monroe, and State of New York, vhave invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Hitching-Straps or Safety-Tie Reims for horses; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification.

Figure l is a view of my improvement applied to a horse,

Figure 2 a perspective view of the strap detached.

Like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

My invention consists, as a new article of manufacture, in a strap so formed and arranged as to pass over the head of the horse and through both rings ofthe bit, and provided with ,a buckle, or equivalent device, for fastening close up to the bit to preventthe latter from coming out of the horses mouth, even if the headstall becomes displaced.

As represented in the drawings, A is the ordinary headstall, consisting of head-strap a, cross-strap Incheckrein c, throat-latch d, and cheek-straps ff, with bit g. The bitching device consists simply of,;a strap or cord, B, havinga suitable end, 7L, for attaching to the bitching-post, and having a length, t', of suficientextent to pass over and around the horses head, and provided with a buckle, c, or equivalent device for connecting the parts.

In use this strap passes up through the bit-ring on one side, over the horses head, as shown, and down through the bit-ring on the opposite side, and is then buckled up close under the chin.

Much diieultyhas been before experienced in hitching horses. Whena halter is used,` fastening around the horses neck, the mane becomes worn and unsightly. There is also Ygreat objection to the use of a strap simply buckling `into one ring of the bit. In suc'h case a sudden strain or jerk will break the cheek-straps f, which are always small, and the bit will fall out of the horses mouth; or,'if the headstall becomes displaced, as is frequently the case, the result is the same. Even if the bitching-strap be buckled through both bit-rings at once, it is no safeguard against these dangers, since if the headstall falls the bit falls with it. Great danger arises from such insecure fastening, especially in cities, wherehorses are liable to become frightened.

By the employment of my device, as above explained, I obviate these diiculties. By passing the strap over the head, through the bit-rings, and buckling close up under the chin, I make the fastening as strong as a halter, without disfiguring or wearing the mane. By this arrangement also, while the strap is connected with the bit, and therefore holds at the mouth, (the most sensitive point,) all strain upon the cheek-straps or other parts of'thehcadstall is avoided, and therefore they cannot be easily broken or displaced; `and even if the headstall should come off the bit cannot fall from the horses mouth, for the tight loop over the head will hold it up. It is this special feature of passing the strap over the head, and at the same timcconnecting it closely withthe bit, that gives the great value to my invention, for by passing over the head I secure strength, and connecting with the bit I take advantage of the horses most sensitive part. These combined effects cannot be secured by the use either of a simple halter, resting over the nose or around the neck, or a simple bitchingi strap buckling into the eye of the bit, for neithei` will hold the headand at the same time connect at the mouth'. It will be noticed that by passing the strap through both rings of the bit the same will have a tendency to close and bind around the jaw in drawing the xstijn-p taut.- This has a tendency to allay restiveness and starting.

The strap can be made of any desired size and strength, there being no limit in this respect.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, as a new article of manufacture, is

The strap or cord B, provided with the length z', for passing over and around the horses head and through the rings of the bit, and the buckle 7c, or equivalent, for fastening tightly under the chin, the whole arranged and operating in the manner and for the purpose herein set forth. l i

. In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence-of two subscribing witnesses.

A. J. ROSS.

Witnesses J. A. DAVIS, Win. A. Leann. 

